Clear Lake hitch petition advanced to candidacy status

LAKE COUNTY -- A petition to have the Clear Lake hitch designated as a threatened species cleared a necessary hurdle Wednesday in Mount Shasta.

The California Fish and Game Commission voted 2-1 to advance the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) petition to candidacy status, triggering a one-year review period.

"These are culturally, biologically important fish, and state protection is one of the keys to saving them. Restoring their habitat will improve the health of Clear Lake overall," CBD representative Jeff Miller said in a statement.

The center asks state officials to list the fish, native to Clear Lake and its tributaries, for protection under the California Endangered Species Act.

In light of the tight approval vote Wednesday, state Department of Fish and Wildlife officials have a year to review the Clear Lake hitch before the commissioners must make a final determination on the request.

Such examinations are generally aimed at "getting a more clear picture of what's going on with the species," Adrianna Shea, deputy director for the Fish and Game Commission, said.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) sent a letter Tuesday urging the commission to delay decision-making to allow more time for officials to analyze data within the petition and for stakeholders in the county to comment and present research.

"I'm not surprised," District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said of the commission's decision Thursday. "It may be inevitable that the hitch receives protection status given the steep decline in the population."

The BOS has not taken an official position on the CBD petition.

"I'm leaning more toward we don't need (the designation) than we do need it," District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown said Thursday. "I think there are better ways to save the species than the petition."

The Lake County Farm Bureau and Lake County Chamber of Commerce were among the groups to take a formal stand against the petition.

"We oppose the petition as presented due to a lack of scientific data and inconsistencies in the general data found within the petition," Farm Bureau president Marc Hooper wrote in a letter to the commission.

Several American Indian tribes have come out in support of the protection bid.

"This is a promising move on the part of the Fish and Game Commission," Anthony Jack, tribal chair of the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, said, adding that his tribe would "continue to assist in protecting the few native species left in our region -- the benefits to the ecosystem will be felt by all."

The petition suggests recovery measures for the hitch, including removing or retrofitting migration barriers, improving in-stream water flows, restoring fish to former spawning streams and reducing invasive predators near the mouths of spawning streams, Miller said.

"We need measures right away to improve stream flows, stop the loss and degradation of spawning habitat and address the problems of barriers to fish migration, pollution and the impacts of invasive fish," he added.

Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636, ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com. Follow him on Twitter, @JeremyDWalsh.